This five-letter word sure is a hard topic to discuss! It's awkward for us to have to bring it up, and it's not something our supporters want to think about either. We understand that, but we also understand how important it is for our survival. As a rescue (and not a subsidized shelter) we are required to figure out all finances by ourselves. This means that we have to pay the bills from what we receive in donations and adoption fess. That's it; that's all we get.

I have been trying to write this post for a long time, but I never seem to get around to it. Today, however, makes me feel like I cannot wait any longer.

The problem with rescue is that is a failing business model from the start. The funds needed to successfully provide total care for the animals and the maximum money able to be generated from adoption fees never, ever match up. Let's give an example. If we take in a male dog that has not received any prior vetting, the basic care we will cost us $135 for spay/neuter, vaccines, heartworm test, and microchip. If the dog goes into foster and needs supplies such as leash, collar, and food, we have to tack on another $50. We also provide the dogs with heartworm and flea/tick preventatives. Now we have to tack on another $12. If we are lucky the dog needs nothing else and has only cost us close to $200. Unfortunately, we are seldom so lucky. We get a lot of dogs in our program who arrive with flea dermatitis, bladder infections, ear infections. Those conditions are relatively inexpensive to treat, but nevertheless add on to our overall cost. Often times, however, the seriousness of the condition is much worse than treating with a few pills. We get a lot of dogs who are heartworm positive, require entropion or cherry eye surgery, or need tooth extractions. We have also recently had several dogs who joined our program with suspicious tumors. Some were benign, some malignant, all have had to be surgically removed. If we add $600 to the original $200 for a heartworm-positive dog who receives a chest scan for staging purposes, an antibiotic as pre-treatment, and injections for the actual treatment, we now have a dog that has cost us more than $800. Our adoption fee is usually $175. Where do we get the remaining $625? As you can imagine, if we continue to provide full vetting and treatment for the animals we will never be able to cover the expenses purely based on adoption fees. This is where we need help, and a lot of it.

We realize that not everyone has a bunch of spare cash lying around; there are other options though. Here are a couple of ideas how you can help us:

1. Collect spare change at work.2. Have a change jar on the counter of your place of employment.3. Organize a fundraiser or event for us.(This one is really important. We just do not have the time to take care of 30+ dogs--that doesn't even include our personal pets-- AND organize fundraisers without something being neglected.)4. Participate in the fundraisers we advertise on Facebook.5. Help allocate funds or free supplies through grants or other rescue support.

When a private rescue is begging for money, know that those pleas are almost always legitimate cries for help. If you have doubts about any organization, feel free to make the donation directly to the vet of their choosing. That is always an option for us!

Please click the "Helping" tab on our page if you would like to immediately donate to help us continue to care for PawSwaP animals!